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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28410186">Revival</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom'>BunniesofDoom</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Duality [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mechanical Rose, Nuts and Dolts - Freeform, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:21:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>983</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28410186</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The moment she spots the aura-transfer machine, Ruby knows what she needs to do.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Duality [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112363</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Revival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Combining my running theme of angsty conflicted grieving winter maiden Ruby with another idea that wouldn't leave me alone. Content warning for temporary character death.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moment she spots the aura-transfer machine, Ruby knows what she needs to do. She remembers her conversation with Dr. Polendina, about how he'd created Penny. How he'd given her a part of his aura—his soul—to bring her to life. That was how he was able to bring Penny back after what had happened at Amity Arena.</p><p>And for the first time since Penny crash-landed in the courtyard of the Schnee manor, Ruby allows herself to feel a spark of hope. So that night, after everyone else is asleep, Ruby slips past Blake, who's keeping watch, and grabs Penny. Using her new powers, she takes off, soaring through the skies over Atlas towards Dr. Polendina's lab.</p><p>The others had offered to give Penny a proper burial, but Ruby had refused. They still hadn't tracked down Penny's father, after all, she'd argued. Plus, it would have felt like giving up. So instead, Penny had laid in one of the guest rooms as they continued to try to track down Amity Arena.</p><p>And now, Ruby knows that she was right to refuse to give up hope.</p><p>She'd stumbled across the lab by accident. In the days following Salem's assault on Atlas, she and the rest of their little group had been spending their time clearing any remaining Grimm off the streets while they tried to track down the rest of their friends. The lab had been largely undisturbed by the attack, and when Ruby had slipped inside, using her semblance to get away from the others, she'd found the one thing that might bring Penny back to her.</p><p>As she approaches the lab, Ruby tries not to think too much about what she's trying to do. Penny usually does her best to stay out of Ruby's thoughts unless Ruby offers to share, but she knows that if she thinks too "loudly" about her plan, Penny will hear it. And then she'll definitely try to talk Ruby out of it, claiming that it's too dangerous and not worth the risk.</p><p>Ruby knows that Penny is worth every risk.</p><p>Before she left, Ruby had left a note for the others in case someone wakes up and finds out that she's missing. She doesn't like leaving her team in the dark, but she knows that they too would attempt to change her mind. It's too dangerous, she can hear Yang saying. Well, Ruby can take care of herself. She's the Winter Maiden now, after all.</p><p>And if she doesn't get to try this now, Ruby knows that it will eat her alive.</p><p>Ahead on the horizon, the lab comes into view. There are still a few Grimm lurking nearby, but with a tilt of her head, Ruby freezes them in place. A quick flash of her silver eyes is enough to finish them off once they're trapped in the ice.</p><p>Her arms are beginning to ache with the strain of carrying Penny all this way, but she refuses to set her friend down until she's inside the lab. Settling her friend carefully on an empty table, she walks over and inspects the aura-transfer machine. She finds herself wishing that she'd asked more questions, gotten a better idea of how the machine worked, but she's not sure how much Dr. Polendina would have been willing to tell her. Even if he was here now, she doubts that he'd be willing to help her do this. And it's not like there's some sort of instruction manual for bringing your friend back from the dead.</p><p>Well, Ruby has always been good with machines. She'll just have to figure it out on her own.</p><p>Even with her skills as a mechanic, it takes far longer than she would like to get it up and running. She can hear her scroll buzzing in her pocket as she puzzles out the controls and gets Penny situated in the machine. She's going to be in so much trouble when her friends find her, but she can't really bring herself to care. Ruby will put up with any amount of yelling so long as she can have Penny back by her side.</p><p>Finally, after double checking that all of the settings look correct, Ruby attaches the last part of the aura-transfer machine to her chest. Taking a deep breath, she presses the button to activate the transfer process. The machine hums loudly, quickly becoming surrounded by a faint glow. Silver aura flows from Ruby to Penny.</p><p>It's a painful process, and Ruby is forced to grit her teeth to keep from screaming. She refuses to let herself cry out, keeping her eyes fixed on Penny, looking for any sign of life. Just when her vision starts to blur and she thinks she won't be able to bear it any longer, the pain stops, the glow fades and the machine goes silent. Ruby frees herself and dashes over to Penny's side. She's still a little woozy, but thanks to the additional power provided by the Winter Maiden, she's able to give up a piece of her aura without too much strain.</p><p>As soon as the door unlocks itself, Ruby quickly but cautiously pries it open. She scans Penny's face urgently. "Please, let it have worked. Please let her come back."</p><p>Just when the spark of hope inside her is starting to fade, Penny's eyes flutter open. Green flames flicker into view. "Penny?"</p><p>"Ruby?" Penny blinks slowly, as if coming out of a trance. "Is that really you?"</p><p>Ruby nods, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Yeah, Penny, it's me." She takes one of Penny's hands in her own. "I'm so glad that you're okay."</p><p>She's going to be in a world of trouble when Penny and the rest of her friends find out what happened. But with Penny gazing up at her, full of life and green eyes shining brilliantly, she can't bring herself to care.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.</p><p>Reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if you have an idea that you'd like to see me write, please let me know and if I like it I might decide to write it for you.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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